In 2016, Tyler Spink of Kalkaska was paddling with a friend on Labor Day when their kayaks capsized. They had started at the mouth of the Platte River in Benzie County. Spink’s friend was rescued, but he disappeared below the surface.

Bruce’s Legacy is a Wisconsin-based group of volunteers that helps families of drowning victims. It’s named for Bruce Cormican, a firefighter in Black River Falls who died in 1995 while searching for a drowning victim.